Isolators typically comprise enclosures for isolating an inside workspace from an outside environment, thus providing a barrier for contaminants entering the inside workspace and/or for contaminants leaving the workspace and causing potential harm. Examples of isolators include, but are not limited to, restricted access barrier systems (RABS), closed RABS, compounding aseptic isolators, compounding aseptic containment isolators, and gloveboxes. Isolators are useful in the pharmaceutical, medical, chemical, and electrical engineering industries, such as in the manufacture or compounding of drugs in hospitals or pharmacies, handling radioactive and other dangerous materials, and manufacturing electronic components, to name a few.
In a typical isolator system, openings such as arm ports are provided on a front face of the isolator for allowing the hands and arms of a user to access the inside workspace. Sleeves are provided which are attachable to the arm ports and which extend into the workspace. Gloves are sealingly attachable to a distal end of the sleeve typically using a sleeve cuff such as a rigid ring with annular grooves. In use, a user puts his or her arms through the arm ports and into the sleeves wearing a pair of inner disposable gloves. Once the user's arms, covered by the sleeves, are in the workspace within the isolator, the user can wipe the inner gloves with a sterilizing agent, such as isopropyl alcohol, place an outer pair of sterile gloves on the inner gloves, and attach the outer gloves to the sleeve cuff to thereby isolate the user from the inside workspace. Typically, the outer gloves are attached to the sleeve by stretching a cuff end of the outer gloves over the sleeve cuff and securing in place with a resilient ring such as a rubber ‘o’ ring received in one of the annular groves of the sleeve cuff.
In certain isolator uses, such as pharmaceutical compounding, regulations require frequent sterile glove changes whilst performing the compounding inside the isolator. This can be time consuming and awkward for the user and can sometimes result in tears to the new outer glove which can slow the glove change process down even further and risk contamination to the user and the isolator workspace.
The glove change process, for each hand, typically comprises removal of the resilient ring holding the outer glove to the sleeve cuff, removal of the outer glove from the user's hand, attachment of a new outer glove to the sleeve cuff and placement of the resilient ring around the new outer glove on the sleeve cuff. In some cases, the sleeve may be pulled out of the inside workspace, whilst still attached to the isolator at the port end, and the glove change performed exteriorly of the isolator. In other cases, the glove change may be performed inside the isolator workspace but the used outer glove removed through the sleeve and disposed of outside of the isolator. It will be appreciated that such glove changes of isolator systems of the prior art are awkward as single handed manipulation by the user is required and also there is a risk of breaching the inside workspace environment and subsequent contamination of the user or the outside environment by hazardous compounds.
Furthermore, inbetween work sessions at the isolator or when switching between users, a new outer glove is typically left attached to the sleeve in order to maintain the inside work environment inside the isolator. However, if the next user requires a different size of outer glove, this will necessitate a further glove change, taking up time and having the associated awkwardness and environmental breach risk mentioned above.
Therefore, there is a need for isolator sleeve systems which overcome or reduce at least some of the above-described problems.